Playtesting is a vital step in this project. I had the opportunity to conduct live playtests with my fellow game development classmates. Testing with fellow game devs in particular helped me to gain a unique advantage, as they’re not only potential players but also like-minded developers who understand the complexities of game design.

Although our playtest sessions are smaller and more informal compared to professional settings, I took a look at The Playtesting Kit and drew ideas from it, making sure that I got the most from this session.

Playtesting Kit - Takeaways to consider before session

Additionally, I applied several other tips from the Playtesting Kit to make the sessions more structured and impactful:

• Avoiding Bias: DON’T GIVE TOO MUCH CONTEXT!!! Or lead players with explanations before they start playing. Keeps their experiences and feedback authentic and unfiltered.
• Building Feedback Platforms: To collect meaningful feedback, it was advised that those conducting the playtests should make feedback platforms such as surveys ( Surveys in particular for live playtests, the type we are doing) that asked questions on key parts of the prototype/what the conductor wishes to learn more about/what to improve on. Also overall player experience.
• Silently Observation: Watching how players interact with the games in real-time provides valuable insights into areas where they may be confused, frustrated, or found unexpected enjoyment. These sort of things aren’t always captured through direct feedback.
• Advertising: ADVERTISING FOR PLAYTESTER ATTENTION. Considering the limited time we have for playtesting, I plan to use this practice to make my games as visible and appealing as possible to gather as much feedback as I could.

Advertising for Playtesting

This gave players a quick and clear overview of each game, making it easy for them to understand the concepts and choose the one that caught their interest.

To ‘advertise’, I printed screenshots from the prototypes of my game ideas, accompanied by their titles, brief descriptions and tags.

Additionally, I provided QR codes that lead players to a feedback form on the game(s) they chose.

‘SEEDS OF CONFLICT, Narrative-Driven RPG Adventure, Tags: Motivation, Betrayal, External Conflict, Ideological Conflict, Power Abuse’

‘HIGH ROAD, Platformer & Stealth Challenges, Tags: Internal Conflict, Self-Reflection, Identity’

Glen Eyre Road 67.m4a

Some Images From Playtesting Session

Glen Eyre Road 68.m4a